walking on mirages
by denuit
Summary: au. Sasuke traces the outline of her face with his fingertips— partly because he can but mostly because he needs to make sure that she's real.
1. into you

from **wikipedia**: A _mirage_ is a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky.

* * *

_walking on mirages  
_

I

into you

.

Uchiha Itachi stares down at the papers in his hands, his vision blurry. He lets them fall onto the mahogany desk, closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose where his glasses have left two tiny pink marks. Itachi can tell by the throbbing in his temples that a headache is on its way. He opens the top drawer and takes out the bottle of pills; it is empty. Itachi dumps the container into the trash can under his desk and leans back in his chair, massaging his temples.

The door to his office flies open and Kisame walks into the office, loud steps and humming. "Itachi!" Kisame exclaims, a grin that shows his sharp teeth plastered on his face.

"Kisame," Itachi greets, taking the papers into his hands once more. His vision is starting to clear. "How are the Akimichi's doing?"

"Divorced," Kisame snorts.

"Who got the bakery?"

"Ms. Akimichi. Crazy lady, that one. Said he could have the bakery over her dead body; you should have seen his face, poor man."

"Aa." Itachi responds, putting on his glasses. Maybe he should have his eyes checked up, he might be in need of new glasses. "You should go home, Kisame. Rest up."

"You should see a doctor," Kisame says. Itachi pretends not to hear the concern in his best friends voice."Still not getting better, huh?"

"Getting worse actually," Itachi sighs. "I'll make an appointment."

"I'll hold you to it," Kisame grins, trying to mask the worry for his best friend. Itachi has been getting headaches for quite some time now and being the busy man he is, he has not taken the time to visit a physician. "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow."

Itachi nods absently, eyes focused on the black letters as Kisame makes his way out of the office.

.

"There's nothing wrong with you?" Kisame asks, eyebrow twitching. Itachi nods, bringing the cup to his lips; takes a small sip than puts it back on the table, staring straight ahead. "That's great," Kisame adds, "but what about your headaches?"

"They said a possible cause may be stress."

.

"What?" Sasuke demands, watching the smoke dissolve into the late May air above him.

"Nothing," Itachi laughs, ruffling his younger brother's hair, "Can't I spend some time with my little brother?"

Sasuke raises his eyebrows at him. "Whatever."

"Where are you going this time?" Itachi asks after a moment of silence, laying down in the hammock.

"Oto."

"How long?"

"Don't know yet, depends on the weather."

"I see."

Sasuke stares down at his brother. Itachi's eyes are closed, head resting on his forearms, hammock swinging lightly. It's a sight Sasuke rarely has the opportunity to see, a peaceful Itachi. His brother is busy keeping the reputation of the Uchiha law-firm up— just as it has been while their parents were still alive. Itachi never complains but Sasuke can see it written all over his face, the stress, the worry; it infuriates the younger Uchiha that his brother has given up his life for the firm. Sasuke himself hardly ever takes interest in the firm. There was a time when everything Sasuke ever wanted was to be like his brother and get acknowledged by his father, back when he was still young and naive. Every choice he made only seemed to be getting him farther away from Itachi, from getting noticed by his farther. Even after graduating on top of his class from law school his father didn't acknowledge him. The man's sole purpose was to shape Itachi into the perfect lawyer, the perfect heir of the firm_._

Sasuke shakes his head, suppresses the thoughts and flicks the butt(his mother would have scolded him). "I need to pack," he informs and Itachi hums in acknowledgment, cracking an eye open.

It's already dark when Sasuke leaves; he doesn't bother saying goodbye to Itachi, who is probably already asleep.

Unbeknown to Sasuke Itachi watches from behind the curtains in his bedroom as the black Mustang vanishes.

.

Kisame calls him one night, when he's lying on his bed, exhausted, Suigetsu snoring next to him. Their conversation is brief and when the line goes dead Sasuke jumps to his feet, exhaustion and everything forgotten. He needs to get back to Konoha. Suigetsu wakes up when Sasuke flicks on the lights, moaning and grunting.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asks, pulling the pillow over his face to block the light. "Go to sleep, Sasuke!"

"I'm going back to Konoha," Sasuke says, throwing clothes into his suitcase.

"What?" Suigetsu whines, pushing the pillow aside. "I couldn't hear you!"

"I'm going back to Konoha," Sasuke repeats, walking out of the bathroom, toothbrush in his hand.

"You what?" Suigetsu shrieks, abruptly sitting up.

Sasuke doesn't bother answering, he closes his suitcase, snatches the car keys from the table.

"Wait!" Suigetsu calls, "Why!"

"Itachi," tells him from the doorway and before Suigetsu can ask further question the door closes.

It's four hour drive back to Konoha but Sasuke would rather have something to focus on than think about his brother.

_It doesn't make sense_.

Itachi had been fine that morning when he called Sasuke. Then how did Itachi end up in the hospital? And why? Sasuke squeezes the steering-wheel, his foot pressing down on the acceleration paddle. Can it be that Itachi has been involved in an accident? Sasuke shakes his head, his brother has always been careful. Then what happened? And why did Kisame sound so distraught? Why has his brother's best friend denied to tell him more about Itachi condition; is it really necessary for Sasuke to go all the way back to Konoha?

Sasuke opens the window in attempt to cool off his racing mind. The humid air of mid August fans over his face and Sasuke inhales deeply, trying to calm down. The relationship with Itachi might not be the best relationship between brothers the world has ever known, but Sasuke can't ignore the wrenching feeling in his chest.

Sasuke arrives to Konoha when the sun —yellow and orange —is starting to go up onto the sky, . The streets are empty, still, and the air is cooler than in Otogakure. Sasuke ignores the red light and drives too fast for city boundaries but he doesn't care. He stops by a convenience store to buy cigarettes(the pack he left with is already empty) and smokes three before finally parking into the hospital parking lot.

His mouth is dry and foul tasting from the cigarettes he has smoked before, he probably smells like tobacco too, but he doesn't care; he walks into the hospital, hands in his leather jacket, head down, a sizzling sound in his ears.

* * *

hello:3

i hope you enjoyed reading this! please don't forget to leave a review and share your opinions!so guess who just started watching suits?o well...


	2. narcotic

_ walking on mirages  
_

II

narcotic

.

Sasuke stares out the window at the sky, the people walking up and down the streets, the cars. He checks the phone; it's 5:50. There's an armchair in the corner that looks uncomfortable but Sasuke moves towards it nevertheless and sits down. He stretches his legs in front of him and leans back, pulls his legs back and rests his arms on his thighs. Itachi is still fast asleep in the high hospital bed in front of him, unaware of Sasuke's presence. He seems fine, there is no external injury and given the fact that the nurses let him enter his brother's room, Itachi must be fine. Then why? Why had Kisame called him? Sasuke wants to stand up and shake his brother awake and ask him what the hell is going on. But he won't. There are noises coming from the hallway and Sasuke assumes that the doctors are getting ready for the morning check-ups. That's what they do in the morning.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke looks up; Itachi is blinking at him, confused. The younger Uchiha stands up, eyes locked on his brother, yet he doesn't say a word. The tension is almost palpable.

Itachi is the one who breaks the silence. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," Sasuke says, eyes hard, lips thin. "What _are _you _doing _here, Itachi?"

"This has nothing to do with you, Sasuke. Why did you come?"

"You think I wanted to come, Itachi?!" Sasuke spits, angry. He just drove back from _fucking _Oto because something is wrong with his brother. "Your _fucking _best friend called me, Itachi!"

Sasuke glares at Itachi but his brother's face is emotionless. If there is something going on inside Itachi mind he doesn't show it and it infuriates Sasuke to no end. His brother is laying in a hospital bed for crying out loud. Sasuke deserves an explanation. But Itachi is as secretive as ever; always keeping things to himself like he's some kind of know-it-all that doesn't need the help of anybody.

"You know what," Sasuke breaths, eyes dark and voice low and shaky from the anger that's been building up inside him. "It doesn't matter. I'm going back."

And in an instant he's in front of the door, hand on the doorknob.

.

"All right, people," Sakura Haruno, fifth year neuro resident, says and her interns look at her with wide eyes and gaping mouths(Sakura wants to laugh at their facial expressions). "Let's go."

It's six on the spot when they start the morning rounds and the interns are chatting away and Sakura smiles, remembering the time when she was an intern herself. Everything seemed so fascinating back then. The first stop they make is room 347. Sakura's fingers are inches apart from grabbing the doorknob when the door opens and something or rather someone collides into her, making her stumble a few feet back. What a great way to start a new day, Sakura thinks, rubbing at her aching nose. Who even comes to the hospital this early in the morning?! She looks up, ready to admonish whoever happened to bump into her so unceremoniously, when a pair of burning black eyes glare back down at her and Sakura's words get stuck up in her throat. They're so black and she can actually _see _the raw anger in them. She's never seen eyes so full of emotion(and trust her, you see all kind of facial expression when you're a doctor).

"Are you the doctor?" A gruff voice asks and Sakura's eyes travel down to the man's thin lips. She nods, swallowing hard. The same man moves to the side, holding the door back and with a slight move of his head motion to her to get inside. Sakura catches the faint smell of cigarettes and cologne when she walks past him but she doesn't look up. He didn't even bother to apologize for bumping into her, what a jerk. Handsome jerk. Still a jerk. Sakura shakes the thought away and smiles brightly. Patients don't need to see her angry face.

"Good morning, Itachi-san!" She says, smiling at her patient. Uchiha Itachi doesn't look at her and it's not like him. Even if he's not a social butterfly, Itachi-san always has a respectful smile to offer. "How are you filling this morning?"

"I'm feeling just fine," Itachi says.

"That's lovely, Itachi-san!" Sakura responds, still smiling, then turns to Moegi, one of her interns. "Moegi!"

"Yes!" The brown haired intern exclaims, stepping forward. "Uchiha Itachi-san, admitted last night because he experienced tremors in his left hand. Medical history revealed that the patient is suffering from stage IV glioblastoma. Uchiha-san is scheduled for surgery tomorrow at 9 a.m."

The door opens and the man, who has been standing in the far corner walks out, slamming the door shut. Sakura raises an eyebrow. She looks back at her patient, who is visibly affected by the incident(his eyebrows are furrowed).

"Who's he?" Moegi asks.

"Moegi!" Sakura admonishes.

Moegi bows. "Sorry 'bout that, Itachi-san."

Itachi shakes his head. "It's all right. He's my brother."

Sakura gasps. His brother? "Should I—" she says, looking between Itachi and the door. "Should I go after him?"

"No," Itachi says, staring at his hands. "No, he probably doesn't want to see me."

.

The nurses stare at him when Sasuke storms out, angry, fingers trembling. He walks out of the hospital and fishes out the pack of cigarettes from his pocket along with the lighter. The first drag feels warm and his lungs tighten, trying to push out the unwanted air; Sasuke holds it for a few seconds then he exhales and the smoke evaporates into the early morning air. The hazy feeling sets in and it's relaxing, comforting almost.

How could Itachi not tell him that he's having surgery? And what the fuck is glioblastoma? And tremors in his hand?! Sasuke runs his fingers through his hair and puts the nic stick back between his lips.

"You shouldn't be smoking here," comes a stentorian voice and then there's someone standing next to him; Sasuke remains unfazed.

"You should put that out."

Sasuke turns around slowly, cigarette between his lips. A _pink haired _woman(doctor judging by her attire) is standing right in front of him and Sasuke recognizes her as the one who he bumped into while trying to leave Itachi's room. Her hands are on her waist, eyes on him and Sasuke has the urge to laugh at her because she wants to look intimidating but she's a head smaller than him and she probably weights half of his weight. Instead he raises an eyebrow and shifts his weight to his right leg. Her pink eyebrow furrow into a frown and a pair of vivid green eyes—almost too big for her face— glare at him.

"You should also go back to your brother," she says with a quick curl of her pink lips.

Sasuke takes the cigarette between his index and middle finger. "Don't tell me what to do," he says before putting the cigarette back and inhaling.

"You're on hospital property, a cancer stick between your lips while your brother is laying on a hospital bed, waiting to have major brain surgery," the pink haired bites back aggressively and Sasuke's eyes narrow in anger. _Brain surgery. _What the actual fuck!

He let's out the smoke and licks his dry lips. "What's glioblastoma?"

"What?" The pink haired asks, taken aback. Sasuke looks at her, face impassive and she clears her throat before answering. "Brain tumor. It's a brain tumor."

Sasuke almost drops the cigarette he's holding. Itachi has a _brain tumor._

.

Sakura seriously wanted to punch him. But she stopped herself because she was on hospital property and it wouldn't leave a nice impression if a doctor would punch a patient's relative. She gives him the deathliest glare she can muster. It doesn't bother him which only infuriates Sakura even more.

"You're on hospital property, a cancer stick between your lips while your brother is laying on a hospital bed, waiting to have major brain surgery," she tells him, watching his face for any emotion. He puffs out the smoke and it's disgusting when it reaches her nostrils. And then his pink tongue pokes out from between his lips and he licks them and Sakura trails the movement with her eyes, swallowing hard. _Fucker._

Then all of a sudden. "What's glioblastoma?"

Sakura tilts her head in confusion. "What?" It's not that she didn't hear the question it's that how can he possibly not know that he's brother has a tumor on his brain. He looks at her but his eyes no longer hold any emotion. "Brain tumor. It's a brain tumor," she tells him and watches as the realization dawns on him. How could he possibly not have known? Why wouldn't Itachi-san tell him? Sakura face-palms; maybe Itachi-san didn't get around to tell him and she made a huge mistake by telling the other Uchiha. He let's the cigarette fall to the ground and stomps it off. His head is down and Sakura can't see his eyes because of his bangs. His shoulder are slouched and he shoves his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. He turns around and heads to the entrance of the hospital. Sakura quickly follows. She keeps a few steps behind him but she can see that his jaw is clenches and that his lips are forming a straight line.

"Sakura-san," one of the intern calls. Sakura stops, turns around, ready to bite off her head.

"Is somebody dying?"

The intern shakes her head. "No..."

"Then don't bother me. Go, tend to the other patients. Do the pre-ops."

When she turns around he's already gone and her pagers goes off right on cue.

.

Sasuke doesn't knock, walking straight into the room. Itachi blinks up at him from his bed and Sasuke returns the gesture with a glare.

"You came back," Itachi says and Sasuke needs to gather all his self-control not to punch Itachi.

"When were you going to tell me?" Sasuke asks, his voice heavy with anger. Itachi looks away and Sasuke clenches his fists. "You were not going to tell me."

Itachi sighs, glimpses at Sasuke than back at his hands that are folded in his lap. "This is not something you should be concerning yourself with."

"The fuck it isn't!" Sasuke snarls. "I'm not a child anymore, Itachi!"

Itachi's eyes widen just the slightest bit; Sasuke is not one to lose his composure and snap at people easily.

"Brain tumor," Sasuke continues, pacing around the room. "You have a brain tumor and you're telling me I shouldn't concern myself with it!"

"Sasuke—"

"And you're having brain surgery, Itachi," Sasuke adds, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Sasuke," Itachi says. "Stop."

Sasuke stops, looking at Itachi sideways. "Why?"

Itachi holds his eyes. "I don't know."

Sasuke laughs at him, humorless and dry, vicious almost. He lifts his arms up, defeated before walking out of the room.

"Sasuke," someone calls from behind him but he's not turning back. Someone grabs his arm and Sasuke yanks it free, spinning around. Kisame stands in front of him, head tilted in confusion. "Thank god you made it," Kisame says grinning. Sasuke wants to punch him in the face and wipe off that grin. "D'you see Itachi-san already?"

Sasuke snorts and walks away.

"Hey, brat," he hears. Stupid people. Just why did he even bother to come back? What was he thinking? What was that fish face Kisame thinking when he called him? Stupid. Not even now, when there's only the two of them can Itachi trust him.

Sasuke sits in the Mustang smoking cigarette after cigarette until there are no cigarettes left in the pack and there is smoke everywhere around him. His mind is blank. He can't think of Itachi even though he _wants _to. He wants to think of his brother, wants to think of all the things he kept from Sasuke, wants to despise him. But he can't. It's like his mind's shut down. His phone goes off in his pocket and Sasuke fishes it out and presses it to his ear.

"_Sasuke-teme!"_ His best friend's too loud voice resonates from the other end of the line. _"Why d'you leave without an explanation, you bastard?!"_

"What do you want, Naruto?"

"_What happened?"_

"None of your buisness."

"_Why d'you go back to Konoha? We were supposed to go back Friday!"_

"I don't have time for your questions, Naruto. Leave me alone." And he hangs up on the one person who has dealt with all his shit and still remained at his side as his best friend. Sasuke feels bad, kind of, but he can't talk to Naruto, not in this state at least.

He drives back home, takes a shower and slumps between the covers. Sleep comes fast leaving him no space to process what just happened. By the time he wakes up the sun is already halfway down the horizon. Sasuke sits up, stretches his limbs and reaches for his phone. There are seven missed calls from Naruto, three text all the same 'Sasuke, you bastard, you better be dying when I get back there or else I'll kill you.' The irony, Sasuke thinks. The other two calls are from Kisame, five from Suigetsu.

After eating toast with butter(the only things he found) Sasuke grabs his keys and jumps into the car. He drives slowly, too slowly, with the window rolled down and the music a low murmur in the background. He parks in front of the green fence and steps out of the Mustang, walking to the front door of the house. He knocks twice, knowing that the bell doesn't work. It takes too long for Sasuke's liking before the door opens revealing a grey haired man. The bottom half of his face is covered by a black material and his only visible eye crinkles up hinting at a smile.

"Sasuke."

"Kakashi."

"Come in, come in," Kakashi hurries, ushering Sasuke inside. "What brings you here? I thought you were in Oto with Naruto and the others."

"Nothing of import," Sasuke says, looking away.

"Aa. I see."

Kakashi studies Sasuke for a few good moments before coughing, bringing his hand in front of his mouth, albeit unnecessary.

"I wanna jump."

Kakashi raises his eyebrow and crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back against the wall. "You still current, Sasuke?"

Sasuke snorts at him and Kakashi chuckles.

"Let's go, sun's already setting," he says.

They need to stop at Gay's("Right now? Youth sure is impatient, isn't it?") and at Yamato's ("Whatever makes you happy, Kakashi-senpai!"). After that it's just routine for Sasuke, he suits up and in a few minutes he's crammed in the backside of the small plane with Kakashi and Yamato. The plane bounces to the runway and soon enough he feels the pressure change as it goes off into the air. The runway gets smaller and smaller and it's getting colder, but Sasuke already knows the deal. Yamato is the first to jump. Sasuke follows, one foot dangling in the air and the other still on solid ground and then Kakashi points to the sky over his shoulder and shouts _go _ and Sasuke jumps. The air pushes at him and his face is getting constricted but the rush of chemicals released by his body is already flowing through his veins. He puts out his arms like a bird; he's weightless. He closes his eyes and then a fair jerk and the parachute is open. He's floating with the wind. It's peaceful and all his worries are forgotten, blown away by the wind and Sasuke might be addicted to this because he can't imagine a life without a parachute.

"I thought you'd go for something more spectacular," Kakashi tells him when they head back to the car, amused and mocking and Sasuke shows him his middle finger.

Kakashi laughs it off.

.

Sakura walks out of the hospital, coffee in her hands. She's been running around the hospital and she's on a much deserved break. Her thoughts travel back to Uchiha Itachi-san, the glioblastoma patient and his brother, the jerk. Itachi-san has been diagnosed almost three months ago and if Sakura's given the right of opinion it was a total stupidity from his part to wait this long to get treated("We are not here to judge people, Sakura," Tsunade, her mentor, the world best neurosurgeon has told her. "We are here to help them. It was Itachi's decision."). She's heard of him; everyone's heard of him. Ino was going on and on how he's Konoha's most wanted bachelor("They're not even sure how much money the Uchiha's have, Sakura, can you imagine that?!"). Sakura walks around the parking lot of the hospital, absentmindedly sipping at her coffee when she sees a familiar figure sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, _smoking._

And now, Sakura is not one to think things over twice before acting; she's in front of him in seconds. He looks up, disinterested, cancer stick between his lips. Sakura almost forgot how handsome he is. _Good looks run in the family._ She musses. He raises an eyebrow at her, dark eyes glistening in the dusk and Sakura feels too self-aware. He exhales, the smoke travels up to Sakura and she waves it away with her free hand.

"What?" He asks in a monotone voice.

"Shouldn't you be inside, with your brother?" Sakura replies.

He fixates her with his look but Sakura is not intimidated(she's taller than him right now, after all). "Shouldn't you stop being so annoying?"

Sakura's mouth falls open in disbelief. "Excuse me?!"

He disregards her, getting up and dusting off his dark, tight jeans. She has to look up at him. He's walking away.

"You're like, the worst brother ever!" She yells at him. He stops in his tracks and slowly turns around. His jaw is clenched and his eyes are a reflection of anger and something beyond that Sakura can't put her finger on. Sakura should have held her mouth shut, she realizes as she watches him walk back to her. He stops, but he's too close, invading her personal space.

"You know nothing," he says, between gritted teeth.

"You're supposed to be by his side!" Sakura answers and maybe she should have followed her own advice to keep her mouth shut.

"He doesn't want me by his side, goddammit!" His voice is a tad bit louder and people are staring at them.

"That's not true!"

He laughs dryly and steps away from her.

"There are five stages to accepting a life threatening disease," Sakura adds quickly. He remains uninterested but he's at least listening to her. "Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance."

"Itachi skipped the first four," he says and Sakura might have laughed if not the situation they are in at the moment.

"Look," Sakura starts, voice a little softer because that's how your voice should sound when you're speaking to a wounded soul; and the man in front of her is exactly that, a wounded soul. "I know it's hard. Heck, I see people dying all day. It's hard to digest and to accept. I'm not saying, by any means that you should be all bubbly but... But he's your brother. And he needs you right now."

Sakura watches as the words sink in, his face remains stoic but his shoulders are slouches and he looks like a puppy that's just been kicked.

"He didn't tell me about it," he tells her and his voice is calmer now.

"Patients do that sometimes," Sakura explains, "they think they're able to get through it without help. But trust me, it's better if someone's there."

He nods, blinks, looks up at the sky than back at her and Sakura smiles. "I'm Sakura, by the way," she adds.

"Sasuke."

Sakura walks over to him and _Sasuke _looks at her sideways.

"So what d'you say, Sasuke," Sakura says, smiling up at him, "think you can give your brother another chance?"

.

Sasuke loathes it when random people come to him. And more so if they start bossing him around as if he's a freaking puppet. This pink haired, green eyed devil who keeps stalking him makes no difference. He truly wishes to sew her pink lips shut. Even more so when she asks him retarded question like 'Shouldn't you be inside, with your brother?' Shouldn't she stop mingling in other people's business? She looks down at him and she has one had on her hip. Sasuke gives her the satisfaction of being tall for once in her life.

"Shouldn't you stop being so annoying?" He asks and her lips part in astonishment.

"Excuse me?!"

Sasuke gets up then, dusts his jeans off, not paying attention to her at all. He walks away(he doesn't quite know how he ended up in the hospital's parking lot).

"You're like, the worst brother ever!" He hears; he stops. The anger is already building up inside him and there's a wheezing sound in his ears. How dare she? How _dare _she? He closes the distance between them in two quick strides and he's aware that he's invading her personal space but he couldn't care less. This has nothing to do with her.

"You know nothing," Sasuke says, black eyes boring into her green ones.

"You're supposed to be by his side!" She retorts and Sasuke could kill her right here, right now, not caring about the witnesses. Stupid woman thinking she knows everything when she knows nothing.

"He doesn't want me by his side, goddammit!" He says, aware that his voice is too loud. People are staring. Of course people would be staring, prying, curious, greedy for new gossip material.

"That's not true!" The pink haired exclaims and Sasuke's breathing heavily, nostrils flaring. Her green eyes shine back at him and Sasuke despite the moment and himself wonders when was the last time when someone looked him in the eyes.

He laughs. She knows _nothing _yet here she is questioning him, quarreling with him. What an annoying being. Sasuke steps back and regards her with dark, dark eyes. She holds her own.

"There are five stages to accepting a life strengthening disease," she says, quick and breathless. He's only half listening to her. "Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance."

What is she trying to do? Why is she telling him this? Does she think he's kind of a retard who doesn't know the severity of his brother's situation?

"Itachi skipped the first four," he tells her.

It's not meant to be funny.

It's the truth.

Itachi's been like this since their parents died. Secretive, living between walls he built to protect his mind, no sign of emotion whatsoever.

Sasuke has the urge to scream and pull at his hair.

"Look," she says and her voice is softer, almost as if he's a child and it infuriates him. He's no child and he doesn't need the pity of anyone. "I know it's hard. Heck, I see people dying all day. It's hard to digest and to accept. I'm not saying, by any means that you should be all bubbly but... But he's your brother. And he needs you right now."

_How would you know?_ He wants to ask. _How would you know how it feels like to see the people you most care for die in front of your eyes?_

He doesn't because there is no way this little girl with pink hair and wide green eyes would know. There's happiness and positiveness radiating from her every pore. She knows nothing. Her words cut deep though (Sasuke reasons with himself that it must be the big watery eyes and the silky voice), deeper than he's willing to let on.

"He didn't tell me about it," he confesses.

"Patients do that sometimes, they think they're able to get through it without help. But trust me, it's better if someone's there," she says, careful. Sasuke wants to yell at her to stop making those sad eyes that scream pity.

Instead he just nods and glances up at the darkening sky.

Itachi's like that, too. Thinks he can conquer the world by himself. It's something Sasuke used to admire at his brother before things started going down the hill.

Maybe the pink haired is right, maybe Itachi is just too proud(runs in the family) to admit that he needs someone by his side. He looks back at her, catches her eyes. She smiles, pink lips turning upwards prettily and Sasuke's glad that she dropped the pity-eyes. "I'm Sakura, by the way," she tells him, a little too bright for his liking.

"Sasuke." He has manners, contrary to popular belief. She takes a few light steps, flat shoes on pavement and then she's standing next to him, beaming up at him.

"So what d'you say, Sasuke, think you can give your brother another chance?"

* * *

a/n: hello!:3

Not to sound ungrateful and bitchy or anything butI can actually _see_ how many views/visitors this story has and it's upsetting when not even 1/10 of them leave a message...is it too much to ask for opinions?:( is this story really that bad?

to those who review and fav/follow THANK YOU!3

Love you all. and sorry for my messy grammar, my strange sentences, etc, etc.:)


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